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Chapter 1
Bump! Thump! Crash! Vroooom! Putt putt putt putt. “What was that?” cried Nikki, jumping out of bed. “Mom? Dad? What was that noise?” Nikki started worrying, because she got the gut feeling that something horrible had happened. Nikki ran to her parent’s room, and gasped! Their bed was empty! No, it couldn’t be true, could it? No, they wouldn’t have left her alone. Yes, Nikki was sure that they wouldn’t just leave her. But she was still worried. She ran all over the house, shouting for them. They were nowhere to be found.
5 years later, in an orphanage in Santa Barbara, California...
“Why? Why oh why oh why? God, why did they leave me??? I thought they loved me!! Awww man! Ok, Nikki. It’s been 5 years. Pull yourself together. It’s ok. Everything will be all right in the end.” Nikki sobbed, for today 5 years ago her parents disappeared.
“Yeah, I know!! It’s just-“ Riley paused, seeing Nikki on the bed, her shoulders shaking. “Nikki, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“Huh? Oh, I’m not crying!” denied Nikki.
“Yes you were.” Insisted Kylie. “Why? Because of your parents?”
“Kylie-” Riley warned. Sometimes her twin sister was so insensitive.
“It’s ok. You guys don’t know what happened to my parents, do you?” Kylie and Riley shook their heads. They knew her parents weren’t dead, but not much else. They figured they had dumped her here unlike their parents who had died in a car crash when they were little. “I’ll tell you the whole story after dinner.”
After dinner Riley, Kylie, and Nikki made their way back to their room. Kylie and Riley were both wondering what happened, and why she was so secretive about it.
When they were there, Nikki sat them down. “Do you really want to know about my parents?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
Nikki told them the whole story, starting with how her parents had been acting weird that whole week, and giving her strange worried, almost pained looks. The only thing she had left out was that she had felt that it was her fault that they left her alone. She wasn’t ready to tell anyone, not even her closest friends that yet.
When she finished, Kylie asked, “Did they really disappear like that?” Nikki nodded. “No way! I’m sorry. But that is totally like a mystery! You should try to solve it!”
“Kylie, this is just a normal situation!” Riley argued. “Stop trying to make Nikki’s life a mystery!”
“Well, she likes to solve them, doesn’t she? Shouldn’t she try to at least find out why they left?”
“She’s right.” Nikki told Riley. “I should. It’s not right that they should have left me here. I hope they're alright!”
“They left you, and you want hem to be okay?” asked a puzzled Kylie.
“Yep! I want them to be okay, so I can get them back for dumping me here!”

Chapter 2
“Hey Riley, Kylie. Do you want to come and walk down to the pond with me? We can ditch the little kids that are following us. They never go down there. Nikki” said the note that Nikki had passed in the little paper airplane she flew over to them. The little five year olds were always following them, and it was hard to get a free moment.
Riley threw Nikki a look that said clearly “Yes!! Meet you there!”
Nikki nodded, and walked out.
Riley and Kylie somehow got away from the little kids and met in the hallway that leads to the path to the pod. They started walking, but quietly because the little kids were trying to find them, thinking it was a big game of sardines. Soon Mrs. Pinebaum, the headmistress walked by. She didn’t notice Riley, Kiley, and Nikki, and then she headed into a side door. She walked in, and as she did the telephone rang.
“Hello?”
Static.
“Oh, Nikki. Yes, she’s getting too curious for her own good. I know, we have to do something about it. Yes, I’ll take care of her. Yes, ok, goodbye!!”
Nikki panicked. Take ‘care’ of her? That didn’t sound good; especially in the context of she was getting too curious for her own good. Oh boy.
“Did you hear that? You’re too curious!” Kylie whispered.
“We better go!” Riley warned. “She might catch us!”
As they started tiptoeing away without looking too suspicious, Mrs. Pinebaum walked out.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Ummm, we’re hiding from the little kids. We’re playing sardines.” Nikki said.
“Really,” Mrs. Pinebaum said, giving them a look.
“We promise!” Riley, Kiley, and Nikki cried.
“Okay,” Mrs. Pinebaum replied, still not sure of them.
“Come on, I hear them!” cried Kylie. They took off down the hallway.
They ran to their room and when then sat down, still freaking out.
“What did she mean, take care of you?” Riley cried.
“I don’t know! I’m still kinda freaking out about it!!” Nikki yelled. “Sorry, just worried. I mean, who knew Mrs. Pinebaum was trying to keep me away from my parents?”
“That’s like what they say in spy movies when they want to bump someone off!” Kylie added. “How scary!!!”
“Nikki knows that!! Don’t freak her out more than she needs to!!” said Riley.
“Ok, now I need to steer clear of Mrs. Pinebaum. She can’t get me alone. So therefore you guys have to stick with me at all times. Sit with me at dinner, and stuff like that.” Nikki decided. “That okay with you?”
“Yes! We don’t want her to take care of you!” Riley and Kylie agreed. “We want you to find your parents and stay safe!!”
“How are you going to find your parents?” Kylie wondered aloud. “You’re stuck here with someone who’s out to get you, and no way to leave!!”
“I don’t know.” Nikki stated plainly. “Any ideas? Surely all those adventure novels you read have given you some.”
“Well.... let me think. Well, there’s so many that have too many variables in them, like you need a car, and all this other unattainable stuff.”
“Like what?”
“First of all we need to leave here.”
“And may I ask just how will we do that? Didn’t you notice that we’re surrounded by highways, and nobody picks up hitch-hikers anymore!” replied Riley.
“We need to get adopted.”
“What?? Are you crazy? You know, I think I remember you being dropped on your head when you were little-“
“Oh be quiet! Just because we’re 13 now doesn’t mean that we can’t be adopted!”
“Yes, but do you think Mrs. Pinebaum will let me out if she’s trying to get rid of me? Do you think she will want me to be able to find my parents? We can’t get adopted! Mrs. Pinebaum will make sure of that herself!!” Nikki half-sobbed. “And if somebody tried to adopt us, they’d split us up! You two would be adopted, and I would be left here with a crazy lady! Or they would split you two up too.”
Her words hung in the air. They knew that they had to avoid getting adopted at all costs. Otherwise they would never find Nikki’s parents and never have a home of their own.



Chapter 3

Somehow they managed to avoid all the little kids until dinner, and then they got mobbed.
“Where were you guys?” asked Katy, a little 5-year old girl. “We couldn’t find you! You’re really good!” Nikki sighed. She remembered always wanting a little sister and a little brother. Most of the little ones got on her nerves a lot, but Katy was so cute! She would miss her and her cute little 4-year-old brother Christopher.
“Humph! You cheated!” growled a competitive little boy named Dennis. “No fair! We were supposed to find you! And I wanted to win!”
“Sorry Dennis, we’re just really good! I bet you’ll win next time though!” comforted Riley.
“Yeah, I bet you will too! Now we have to go eat.” Nikki said as she pushed through the tiny mobbers. “If you want us to play next time, you have to let us eat.”
“Yeah, we do need to eat. My stomach’s growling already!” said Kylie, and all the little kids laughed. “Did you hear that? It sounded like a train!”
“Yeah!” laughed Christopher, and his sister joined in. “Come on Chris, time for you to go to bed.” Katy told him, pulling him away from the crowd.
“Bye-bye!” he called.
“Night!” called Nikki.
“Don’t you just love Christopher and Katy?” asked Riley. “They’re so cute!”
“Yeah,” agreed Nikki. She would miss them when they left.

Chapter 4

All through dinner Mrs. Pinebaum looked at them strangely. It was very quiet, because there were no other kids over the age of 12 there. Riley, Kiley, and Nikki were he oldest since they were 13. They always ate alone, but this time Mrs. Pinebaum joined them. A first. Mrs. Pinebaum tried to make small talk, but to no avail. It was a very uncomfortable dinner. Riley started wishing that she were anywhere else on the planet besides here.
Mrs. Pinebaum finally finished her meal of spaghetti and meatballs, and said “Girls, you have an hour of free T.V. time after you put your little friends to bed. Goodnight.”
Riley, Kiley, and Nikki just sat there. Who was this lady? She had never before trusted them to put the little kids to bed, or let them stay up! And she certainly never ate with them! What was going on?
Riley was the one who finally broke the silence. “Well, let’s put them to bed then.”
“Oh, right. Sorry, I spaced out,” said Nikki.
“Yeah, I did too,” agreed Kylie.
They walked down the hallway to the girl’s room, and when the younger girls saw them they squealed with joy and ran over.
“Tall us a story! Tell us a story!!” the cried.
Riley got them in their beds and began.
“Once upon a time...”
By the time she finished, all the girls were asleep. Nikki, Riley, and Kylie headed down to the T.V. room.
“I can’t believe she let us watch T.V.!” Kylie announced, as they were halfway through their favorite show. “We actually get to watch what we want now!”
“Yeah, but I think she’s doing this to get in our good sides. Should we trust her?” Nikki wondered.
“I don’t know, but I sure like this T.V. deal!”
“Oh come on! Kylie, you like T.V. too much! And look, our hour is almost up. Let’s get Mrs. Pinebaum to trust us with more privileges by going on bed on time!” Riley said.
“You know, you’re right! If we get her to trust us, we may have an easier time of leaving!” Nikki agreed.
They walked past Mrs. Pinebaum’s room, and saw her on the phone again.
She said, “Nikki, yes, I know, yes. And her friends Riley and Kylie, well they got her to start trying to figure it out. I know, yes, oh look, there they are, heading up to bed. Goodnight girls!” she called cheerily.
“Goodnight Mrs. Pinebaum!” They called, and scurried up to their room.
As Nikki lay in dreaming in her bed, she suddenly started. “Guys! We have to leave soon!”
“What? It’s like, Two o’clock in the morning!” Kylie grumpily grumbled as she rolled back over in bed.
“Wake up!!!” Nikki pushed Kylie over.
“Leave me alone!! Ugh!!”
Nikki ran over to Riley and pushed her too. “Get up!”
“What? Huh? Oh, hi Nikki. What’s up?” Riley rolled out of bed. “What do you need?”
“We need to leave, and get Kylie up.”
“Oh that’s easy! Kylie, pancakes!”
“Really? Cool! I want chocolate chips in mine!” Kylie rolled right out of bed.
“I told you it was easy!”
“Why is it so dark out? Why did you want me out of my nice, warm, comfortable-“
“Kylie!”
“Fine. But why did you want me out of bed? There’s obviously no chocolate chip pancakes.”
“Ask Nikki. She got me up too, though I actually got up!”
“Hey!” Kylie said as she whapped Riley with a pillow.
“Watch it!” Riley slammed her back.
“Oops!” Kylie exclaimed as her pillow hit Nikki when Riley ducked. “Sorry!”
“Oh, you will be!” Nikki growled as she pounced on Kylie. “Gotcha!!”
“Oof!”
“I got you both! Dog pile!!” crowed Riley. “Ha-ha! You can’t get up now!!”
“Just watch me!” grunted Nikki as she did a very complicated push-up.
“Whoa! You’re strong!” Riley said, amazed as she fell off of her friend.
“Yeah, I know. So?”
“That might be helpful if we run into any trouble when we leave...”
“Oh yeah! The reason I woke you up was because I was half-awake, and then all of a sudden I felt that we should leave. Soon.”
“Really?” asked Kylie. She was suddenly interested.
“Yes.”
“Oh, because I just had a dream, it was really vivid, and we were being chased by a bombed pine around the orphanage. And then I heard a voice saying ‘Get out! Now!’ and we left.”
All she heard was snickers from Riley and Nikki.
“Guys! Come in! I’m serious!”
“I’m sure you are, but being chased by a bombed pine? That’s totally supposed to be Mrs. Pinebaum, right? Then you heard a voice? Wow. You’re very creative. We know you made it up. It was funny though! But now we need to pack. Let’s aim for leaving at 5 o’clock a.m., when it’s getting light.” Nikki said.





Chapter 5

Nikki, Riley, and Kylie got all their stuff together and put it into their backpacks.
“So we’re really leaving?” Kylie asked, shoving more and more stuff into her backpack.
“We have to. We need to save my parents, wherever they are.” Said Nikki, just watching Kylie try to shove almost everything she owns in the bag. “Come on, we have to go soon! Just bring the necessities, like a toothbrush, changes of clothes, your small blanket and sleeping bag, a pillow (not the one you ripped on me last night), food, and a towel. Not the whole room!”
“Sorry! Just don’t want to be out in the cold and realize I forgot something!”
“Oh yeah! Bring all of your money too. I’m bringing all mine.” Riley told them. “We may need it.”
“You’re right. I almost forgot about that. Riley, since you remembered it, do you want to take charge of all our money pooled together?”
“Sure. I’m the responsible one, so I naturally should keep the money!”
“Hey!” Kylie yelled quietly.
“Ha-ha!” laughed Riley.
“Guys! No fighting!” Nikki said. “I’m serious!”
“Fine.” Said Riley.
“Fine.” Agreed Kylie.
“Okay then. All good? Everyone packed?” Riley and Kylie nodded. “Make sure it’s not too heavy.” They checked, and it was fine. “All right! Off we go then!”
Nikki tiptoed quietly out into the hallway. “It’s all clear!” she whispered. Riley and Kylie tiptoed out to Nikki. They started walking down the hallway, and as they passed the little girl’s room they heard a noise. It sounded like someone getting out of bed.
“What was that?” Kylie asked, starting to get nervous.
“I don’t know,” admitted Nikki. They kept going and then they heard a little voice.
“Where are you going?” asked Katy. Nikki, Riley, and Kylie whipped around, totally surprised. “Where are you going?” she repeated.
“On a trip to find someone.” Blurted Kylie. She received an elbow on both sides from Riley and Nikki. “What’d I do?”
“Oh.” Said Katy. She looked crestfallen. “So you’re leaving?”
“Yeah, but we’ll try to come back soon!” Nikki said, trying to cheer her up. “We promise!”
“Okay. Well, good luck finding them. Bye!” Katy yawned.
“Maybe you should go back to bed.”
“Okay. Goodnight.” Katy stumbled back into bed.
Nikki and Riley started walking, while Kylie had almost fallen asleep again. They yanked her up, and kept going. Once they got out of the orphanage, they let Kylie go.
“Ouch! What was that for?” exclaimed Kylie as she hit the ground.
“Oh, nothing. Just for telling a five-year old that we were leaving! Do you realize that Mrs. Pinebaum could know within 3 hours? We better get going.” Nikki started marching away again.
“Come on!” Riley said as she pulled Kylie up. “We need to stick with her.”
An hour later, they were still walking along the highway.
“Nikki, could we stop for a little bit?” asked a panting Kylie.
“Sure.” Riley and Kylie flopped to the ground.
“Thanks,” they panted. Riley and Kylie found themselves wishing they were back in bed. Nikki didn’t. She was happy that they were outdoors, away from the confining orphanage. She sighed contentedly.
“This is the life. On the road, with no rules, with my two best buds. Yeah.” Nikki said as she finally sat down.


Chapter 6

“Well, we better get going!” Nikki said as she got up. “You guys okay?”
“Yeah,” Riley sighed. “It’s so weird! I never thought we’d leave until we were 18, or if we got adopted.”
“I know, but look at it this way. We can find my parents, and then they can adopt us, and we can be a normal family! You guys will be my sisters!” Nikki said.
“True, but do you know where to look for your parents?” Riley pointed out. “We need to know where to look first!”
“Yes, I know. There’s always phonebooks. Besides, everyone around here always knew my parents. I remember tons of times where we’d walk into a store and everybody would say ‘Oh hi Linda! Hello John!’ and then they would say, ‘Well now, who’s this? I remember you having a little girl, but she was so small! Is this really Nikki? My! You’ve grown!’ Everybody knows my parents. Linda and John Harleson. My parents. I also just happen to remember my old address.” Nikki looked fiercely proud, but a tear spilled down her cheek.
“Great! Let’s get going!” said Kylie. “How much money do we have anyway?”
“Let me see. We have 98 dollars altogether. Not much, but we did all baby-sit most of the kids when the workers had to leave. And all those lemonade stands and bake sales!” Riley reported.
“Can we take a taxi?” Kylie asked. “It may be faster.”
“I guess so. Do you want to Riley?” said Nikki.
“Sure, I guess. If you guys do,” replied Riley.
“I don’t really want to...” Nikki said.
“Why not?” demanded Kylie. “I think we should. It would get us to your house faster.”
“True. Let’s take one then!” Nikki said hastily.
“Taxi! Taxi!” Kylie yelled, trying to flag one down.
“No use. There’s barely any taxis around here, and all of them are taken!” she complained.
“Well, maybe it’s for the best. We should really get walking. Maybe we could find one on the way,” said Nikki, glad that they didn’t have to ride in a stuffy taxi anyway. “The address of my old house is 2138 Cliff Dr. It’s down that way, past the really old hotel.”
“Do you think your parents will have come back to your house though? If they left then they probably would have stayed away.” Riley said.
“No, I don’t think that they left me. If Mrs. Pinebaum wants me out of the way, that probably means that they were abducted or something. And if she doesn’t want me to find out, then she was in on it!”
“You think she would...” said Riley uncertainly. The look in Nikki’s eyes gave her the answer. “Oh man,” she breathed. “We better be on the look out for her.”
“Yes. That’s why I didn’t want to take a taxi. She could ask around and find out. We better just go.”
“Okay, to your old house?”
“Yes. The sooner the better.”
They trooped down the street, past the old hotel. After about fifteen minutes, they saw Cliff Dr.
“Welcome to my home street!” Nikki said. “This is it!”
“This is it?” Kylie wondered. “Okay, I was kinda expecting something more.... rich looking. Sorry!”
“That’s okay. Most people expect that too.” Nikki looked sad. “But my house is so cool! I had a pool with a slide, a balcony, a hammock...” she trailed off. “I just wish I was still living there. But if I was, I never would’ve met you guys!” she brightened. “Let’s go!” AS they neared the house, it was getting dark. That only better served the purpose of no one being able to see them. It also allowed them to see the lights on in the house.
Hey, someone’s in there!” Kylie whispered excitedly. “Can you see who it is?”
“Not yet, got to go up farther, almost, there!” Nikki whispered back. “Hurry, you’re hurting my shoulders!” Riley complained.
“It looks like a man and a woman. I can’t see their faces yet. Oh! The woman turned.”
“Is it your mom?” asked Riley, praying that it was.
“It’s not.” Nikki replied. To Riley and Kylie it sounded like her heart was broken. “Hey! They’re searching through my parent's stuff! I have to stop them!” Nikki burst through the hedge, and pushed through the door.
“Nikki! No!” cried Riley and Kylie in unison. But she was already inside.

Chapter 7

“You! Stop right there!” Nikki yelled as she ran inside. “Get out of my house!”
“What? Who- Oof!” yelled the man as Nikki rushed to him and kicked him. “Why you little...” He didn’t finish because he was busy trying to strangle Nikki.
“Let go!” cried Nikki as she bit his hand.
“Ouch!” he cried as he dropped her. “I’m going to get you, and when I do you’ll be sorry!”
“But Nikki wasn’t listening. She was too busy trying to get the lady away from her mom’s jewelry. The house had been locked up since that fateful night. Why should someone break into it now? It didn’t make sense, but Nikki didn’t care. She was so focused on getting these people out that she didn’t even hear her friends rush in after her.
“Nikki!” Riley cried.
“Oh, so that’s that brat’s name? Let me guess. You’re her friend. Nice to meet ya!” the man yelled as he lifted her above his head.
“Let her GO!” screamed Kylie as she rushed onto her sister’s attacker. “Pick on someone your own size!” She kicked him. “Or do you only attack girls that are only half your size?” she asked tauntingly, for the man was about 6’11”, while Kylie, the tallest of the trio was only 5’3”.
Nikki hit the lady on the head and screamed in her ear, “GET OUT!!!”
“Aieee!” screamed the lady. She clutched her purse, where she had shoved the jewelry. “What, who, huh?” she mumbled as she slumped to the floor.
“Now it’s your turn, Goliath!” Nikki challenged, feeling not unlike David in the Bible. “Yaa!” she cried as she jumped off the big armchair onto the giant’s back. “Take that! And this! And that!” she said as she pounded his head.
“Yeah!” yelled Kylie as she rushed into the fray and started punching the giant for all she was worth.
“Watch out!” said Riley as she joined the fight. She started hanging onto the man’s legs so he wouldn’t be able to move.
Then Nikki heard a sound that sent shivers down her spine. The sound of a gun cocking.
“Get off him now.” Said the steely voice. They sat down on the floor. “Hands behind your head. Stand up,” the woman commanded. “Just like I thought, George, they fell into our trap.”
“It’s not George!” he thundered. “The name’s Bub.”
“Fine, Bub,” she spat, as if the name was poisonous. “What do we do with the little rats now? By the way little rats, my name’s Ms. Arachne.”
“You mean like the person that got turned into the first spider?” asked Nikki, remembering the story from school. Come t think of it though, she did look a little bit like a spider.
“Yes!” she screamed. “I thought it would scare little kids to death! And it does!”
“Not us! We aren’t scared of spiders!” said Riley bravely. Nikki gasped. Riley was terrified of spiders!
“Oh don’t worry. You soon will be.” Said Ms. Arachne with a smile like ice.

Chapter 8

“Now Bub! Tie the little spider-haters up!” Ms. Arachne screeched. “How does it feel to be a prisoner?” she leered in Nikki’s face. “Hahaha!” she cackled.
“Wow. This lady is nuts!” whispered Kylie. “What do you think she’ll do with us?”
“Quiet! I heard you talking. No talking whispering, or breathing without my permission!” she commanded. “Now, say yes ma’am!” Though Nikki, Riley, and Kylie did not want to, they said yes ma’am, for the gigantic hand of Bub was straying too close to their heads.
“Um, Ms. Arachne?” Bub said.
“Yes, Bub,” she replied wearily, like she was tired of hearing him. She began to rub her temples.
“Well, I was wondering how we were going to take them back to Boss now. He didn’t think that this little scheme of yours would work, even with the info our contact-“
“Quiet!” she hissed. “They can’t know anything. “And you will refer to me as ma’am also. Got it? Now, the chloroform?” she asked, holding out a claw-like hand.
Riley gasped. “No! You wouldn’t!”
“No, I wouldn’t. But Bub here will! Right Bub?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he sighed. He handed her the chloroform. “What’s chloroform?” Nikki and Kylie asked.
“It’s a liquid that knocks you out, and gives you a dreadful headache when you wake up!”
“No fair! Drugging innocent children?” said gutsy Kylie. “Tsk, tsk tsk. Bad form.”
Ms. Arachne fixed her with a glare. “Who cares? I do love seeing the looks on your faces right now! Pure terror. Ah, the sight of terrified little kids brings warmth to my heart,” she raved. “Ha! Now!” she cried as Bub shoved chloroform-soaked Kleenexes in front of their faces.
“No, stop,” Nikki mumbled as her head drooped forward onto her bindings.
“You can’t do this...” trailed off Riley, her words sounding like she was speaking under water.
“Goodnight,” gurgled Kylie. Those were their last thoughts before unconsciousness overtook them.


Chapter 9

“Oooh! My head!” Nikki gasped as she sat up. “Where am I? She wondered. “What’s this?” she gasped at the sight of her manacled hands and feet. “Oh man! Now I remember! Ms. Arachne and Bub! No! We’re in a prison! Wake up!! Kylie! Riley! WAKE UP!!” Nikki screamed as she shook them. “Wake up! Wake up!” It was no use. They were out cold. “Oh well. I guess I’ll just take a nap.” She yawned. She could still feel the chloroform in her system.
An hour later, Nikki woke up again. “Man! It’s so cold! What’s up with Kylie and Riley? Hey guys! Wake up!”
“What? Oh it’s you. What happened?” asked Riley as she tried to stretch. “I remember your house, and then Bub and Ms. Arachne, and then nothing. And what’s with the manacles? And the really scary prison room?”
“I’ll tell you after we wake up Kylie. Kylie, pancakes!” she yelled. Nothing happened. “Why didn’t she wake up?”
“Here, try this. Kylie, you can watch T.V. now! And you get the remote! For an hour!”
“Really? Awesome!” Kylie said as she tried to jump up. “Where’s the T.V.? What’s with the chains? They are so uncomfortable! Woah! I’m freezing! Where’s the heater?”
“Nowhere. We just wanted you up,” laughed Riley. “If you want to know about the chains, then ask Nikki,” she informed her sister.
“You tried to trick me again? No fair! That’s the last time I wake up for you!” growled Kylie. “Man, it’s so cold!”
“Whatever. Do you remember what happened to get us here?” said Riley.
“No, not really,” Kylie admitted.
“Well, I do. Remember running into my house? Do you remember that giant of a man and the very ugly woman? Well, they kidnapped us. They drugged us too!” Nikki said.
“Oh,” said Riley. “I remember now. She had a gun! And her name was Ms. Arachne. Ugh! I hate spiders!” she shivered. “Let’s get her or the dumb one out here so we can make them pay,” Riley fumed as she slammed her fist onto her hand.
Nikki and Kylie stared dumbfounded. Riley was always quiet and reserved, but now she was blazing mad.
“What? You two look like you’ve seen a ghost! You alright?” Riley asked.
Nikki and Kylie nodded. Her words shook them out of their stupor. “So, do you guys see any way out of here?” asked Nikki.
“Well, there’s the windows, but they’re too high. And we have these things on our hands and feet!”
“We may have our hands and feet chained up, but I have my super sharp pocket knife!” Kylie exclaimed as she reached into her pocket. “Ha-ha! Kylie to the rescue!” she cried as she reached over to pick the lock on Nikki’s handcuffs. “Gotcha!” she yelled as they popped off.
“Thanks! Let me get yours.” Nikki replied as Kylie handed her the knife. She twisted it a few times, and then her cuffs snapped open.
“Ah, good to have my hands free again! You ready Riley?”
“Yes. But don’t poke me with that thing!” Riley warned.
“Don’t worry, I will!” snickered Kylie. She popped open the lock. “Now to our feet. I’ll get your feet now Nikki.”
Kylie started twisting the knife in the lock, and then Nikki said, “Stop! I hear footsteps. Lay down flat with your hands under you as if you are still asleep. Put the cuffs back on tight enough that it looks like they’re on, and loose enough so that they can slide off. And don’t lock them!” she warned. “We may not be able to undo them again if they lock.”
They did so, and just in time too, because along came Ms. Arachne.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!! Now I have you! I hope you wake with dreadful headaches!” Ms. Arachne fairly screamed.
“Don’t worry, we didn’t!” Nikki yelled back. “Yeah spider lady, I’m awake! Are you trying to freeze us to death or something? I can tell it’s cold in here, but it doesn’t bug me!” Nikki lied. She stuck her tongue out. “Ha-ha! I bet whomever you’re working for wants us to be unharmed! Therefore you can’t do anything to us! Ha!” she taunted. Nikki started smirking. She was enjoying toying with Ms. Arachne. But that wouldn’t last for long.
“Oh? You think I’m supposed to baby-sit you? Yeah, right. They just want you kept in here long enough so that your parents will do what we want. Then I am free to do what I want with you! He-he-he! Then you won’t be so cocky!” she cackled gleefully, rubbing her hands together like a mad scientist.
Nikki gulped. “You have my parents?” she asked. Her worst fears had been confirmed. They were in the hands of some megalomania group! “Why do you have them? They never did anything to you!”
“So? The boss just hired me to get you so they would do what he wanted. You were what he wanted. So, I got you and your little friends. A bonus! So, you were saying how you weren’t scared of me?” she grinned evilly.
Nikki was silent. She looked down at the floor.
“That’s what I thought. I just needed to break your sprit, just as if you were a horse!” Ms. Arachne said. At that moment Nikki thought she looked exactly like a black widow. Ms. Arachne left, giggling like an elementary schoolgirl all the way.

Chapter 10

“She admitted to having my parents!” Nikki said as she slipped off her handcuffs. “Here, hand me the pocket knife. I’ll do my own foot cuffs,” she said as she took it from Kylie. Twist, twist, and click! “There we go! It’s open. Here Riley, I’ll get yours and then yours, Kylie.”
“Thanks,” Riley said as her feet were freed.
“That feels much better!” said Kylie. “So, how we going to get out of here?” she asked, cutting to the chase like always.
“Lets get a guard down here first. Hopefully they employ the dumb kind here. That would be very helpful. Now, if the guard is dumb, then we could somehow trick him into telling us some escape routes.”
“Just one question. How do we get one down here?” asked Riley.
“By making a racket, that’s how!” grinned Kylie. “That should be easy for you sis!”
“Sure,” Riley rolled her eyes. “Same to you. But now let’s make some noise!!” she yelled like a radio announcer. They started yelling loudly, saying random things that popped into their heads.
“Stop that racket!!” cried the guard.
“Come over here and make us!” challenged Nikki.
“No! What do you want?” he asked.
“You to come over here!” Nikki yelled back.
“No!”
“Yes!”
“Fine!” the guard shouted, stomping over to their cell. “What?” he shouted in Nikki’s face.
“Whoa! You need a tic-tac!” she coughed. “Your breath stinks!”
“Nikki, don’t be mean to the poor guard!” said Riley. She winked at him. “He’s probably a nice guy in a bad job, right?”
“Yeah, I never liked this job. Imprisoning young girls is not my favorite thing to do,” he sighed. “But it pays well and I need the money.”
“Well, If you don’t like keeping us prisoner, how ‘bout you tell us how to get out, and you can say that we somehow got our cuffs off and knocked you down, and then we’ll run away and be free and it wouldn’t be your fault.” Riley said, trying to get him to agree.
“Ummm, let me think. I would like to leave, and I could come with you for a little while. But then I would leave you and go live in a small town, where I could open up a bakery. Yeah, I think I will help you.” He said with a mysterious gleam in his eye. Kylie wasn’t sure if they should trust him.
“Yes! Oh thank you thank you thank you!!” Nikki said. “Sorry about he whole ‘bad breath’ thing. I was joking. It’s a line from a movie.”
“That’s okay. I forgive you.”
“So, we already got our cuffs off with our pocket knife. Now will you unlock the door? We should leave soon,” said Nikki, anxious to get on the road.
“Sure. Here we go!” he said as the cell door swung open.
The guard stepped in, and the door shut with a metallic clang sound behind him.
“What did you do that for?” asked Kylie, knowing that she was right in thinking that they couldn’t trust him.
“Ms. Arachne warned me about you!” he cried, jumping forward and grabbing Nikki. “Now, back you two!” he said, pointing a gun at Nikki. “I have her, and I’m taking her to the boss! So stand back, and she won’t get hurt!”
“Let me go!” Nikki demanded, trying to squirm away from him. “You disgust me, tricking us like that! Man! I can’t believe we trusted you! Ugh!” she grunted, twisting out of his grasp, and then in the process kicking him. “You worm!”
“Ouch!” he whined. “That hurt!”
“What, the comment or the kick?” asked Riley, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Both,” he whined again.
“Too bad, buster!” Kylie said, hitting him in the head and knocking him out. “Oops! I’m sorry did I hurt you? I think my hand slipped” she grinned at the unconscious form of the guard. “Let’s take his keycard and get out of here! It’s the perfect opportunity!”
“I guess you’re right. I’m going to miss the old moldy walls and our really comfortable cold floors, but I need to move on,” giggled Riley.
“We’ve got to move! Kylie, hit him again, for good measure. Then we’ll cuff and gag him. Kylie, would you like to do it?” said Nikki.
“It’d be my pleasure.” Kick! “Oops, my foot slipped on that patch of mold. My bad!” Kylie said. “The cuffs, my friend?”
“Here sis,” Riley handed her the hand and foot cuffs.
“Muchas gracias,” said Kylie as she snapped the cuffs on him.
“Sorry to be so rude and mean, but we need to go, and you were in our way,” Riley apologized, felling a little sad for the poor guard.
“See ya, wouldn’t want to be ya!” Kylie taunted, thumbing her nose at the guard. “Now, which way do we go?”

Chapter 11

“Well, we’re out!” Nikki rejoiced. “Yes!” she raised her hands up into the air. The rain felt so good. They made it out, but with a few really close calls. “Thank God! You know, we should be very thatnkful. I thought that I’d never see the light of day again!”
“Me either! But let’s go! They might be on our trail. Race ya!” Kylie said as she ran off into the woods.
“You’re on!” Riley and Nikki cheered as they raced away. Kylie waited for them, and when they reached her Nikki sped up ahead.
“Hey! Where you going?” laughed Riley.
“Anywhere but back there!” Nikki yelled back. She heard Kylie and Riley laughing and running after her. Nikki laughed with them. She was free as a bird. She felt like she could soar! She jumped over rocks and logs, smelling the pine trees as she ran along. A few times she saw deer and rabbits on the path, happy as could be. Nikki turned, and scrambled up into a tree. Riley and Kylie ran past.
“Yaah!!” she yelled, jumping down from her perch.
“Aah! You scared us!” panted Riley, her heart still beating double-time after jumping five feet in the air.
“Sorry. I had to,” apologized Nikki. “Let’s keep going! It feels so, so, so, natural out here. I love it!!” she cried, falling back into the fallen leaves.
“But we have to go! Ms. Arachne will be here any minute!” Kylie yelled, having no wish to meet that weirdo again.
“You’re right. Let’s go!” Nikki said, as she jumped up.
Thirty minutes later they were out of the woods and following a highway. Soon they saw a taco stand. The man was standing there, reading a magazine. His apron, his hat, and the sign all matched. They were periwinkle and had a hippopotamus with a gigantically bushy mustache eating a marshmallow on it. His mustache matched the hippopotamus’s. Nikki, Riley and Kylie looked at each other, thinking the same thing. Weird! And, does this guy’s company have any sense at all?
When they finally left the highway, and found a sidewalk, they followed it.
Ring! Ring! Kylie looked over at a nearby payphone. It was ringing off the hook.
“Hmmm, I wonder who it is?” Kylie said, as she picked it up. “Hello? Oh, Nikki, it’s for you.”
“Who is it?” Nikki asked. She was a little suspicious of mysterious payphone callers knowing she was there.
“I don’t know, but they asked for you. Their voice sounded familiar...” she trailed off, lost in thought.
“Hello?” Nikki said.
“Nikki, you should come back right now. This is Mrs. Pinebaum. You are in danger. Come back. I know that you want your parents, but I know that they would want me to keep you safe at all costs. Come back. Meet me at the hotel across the street in ten minutes. Please?” pleaded Mrs. Pinebaum.
Nikki was shocked. Oh my gosh! She thought. That was Mrs. Pinebaum! She knows my parents? What is going on?
“What’s wrong, Nikki? Who was it?” asked Riley.
“Nikki? Nikki? Talk to me right now. Will you meet me at the hotel, or do I need to get you myself. I can see you, you know.” Mrs. Pinebaum said.
“How do you know my parents? Why do you care about me? Yes I’ll meet you there, only if Riley and Kylie can come and if you answer all my questions!!” Nikki yelled at the phone. Click! She hung up.
“Nikki, who was that?” asked Riley. “What’s with the hotel?” she wondered after Nikki had marched over to the hotel without a word to either Riley or Kylie.
“Just hang on. I’ll be right back.” Nikki said, and then strolled over to the counter. “Hey.”
“What?” snapped the man at the counter as he turned around. “I’m not paid to cater to little kids, so if you aren’t a guest here, then go away!!!”
“Excuse me, Mr. Bart. She’s with me. Now, if you’ll excuse me?” said a lady coming down the stairs. “Nikki, welcome back,” said Mrs. Pinebaum, for obviously it was her. “Riley, Kylie, you can come over here now, unless Nikki wants to talk about her parents alone.”
“You guys can come. It’s fine if they here what happened. But can we go to your room, or somewhere private?” Nikki asked.
“Yeah. I’ve been here since Katy told me you were gone three days ago. Why did you leave? You could have asked me about them.”
Nikki looked sheepish, and hung her head, so Kylie answered for her. “We heard you on the phone saying that she was too curious for her own good. Then you said that you would take care of her right after that, so all three of us assumed the worst. We were kind of stupid, weren’t we?” she said.
“No offense, but yes. I meant that if you got too curious and left, you would get hurt, or worse. Which almost happened,” Mrs. Pinebaum said, giving Nikki a look.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t know! I just wanted to find them!” Nikki yelled, making everyone in the lobby look at her. Nikki smiled weakly and waved. “Hehe, sorry everybody. Go back to what you were doing.”
“Anyway, we should talk, in my room. Follow me girls,” Mrs. Pinebaum said, sounding again like the person they knew at the orphanage.
They left the elevator, and Nikki looked around. This place looks really nice! She thought. I wonder how Mrs. Pinebaum knows my parents. This is a very weird day. First we see the taco stand guy, and now Mrs. Pinebaum. What is going on? I bet the taco stand guy was just any old random person though. I’ll forget about him.
“Nikki? You okay? You look like you’re staring into space,” Riley said.
“What? Oh, I’m sorry. I was just thinking,” Nikki blinked. “Man, I’m tired. Running from people in the middle if the night in the rain sure wipes you out,” Nikki yawned. “After we talk, can we go to bed?”
“Yes, I got a room with four beds,” Mrs. Pinebaum said.
In Mrs. Pinebaum’s room, Riley, Kiley, and Nikki flopped down on the beds.
“Oh, so comfortable! Zzzz,” snored Kylie.
“I move to sleep first and talk later. We haven’t slept in two days!” Nikki said.
“I second the motion,” said Riley as they both drifted off to sleep.
“Oh well. Telling Nikki can wait. They need their sleep, the little adventurers. Aah, they look so peaceful. Probably the best sleep they’ve had in a while,” Mrs. Pinebaum sighed.























Chapter 12

“Aah! I feel so rested,” said Nikki as she stretched and looked around the room. “This hotel has nice beds. We should come here more often, just not when there are people chasing us, and there’s a big mystery to solve.”
“Oh, hello. You’re awake!” came the creepy voice of the only person whose voice chilled Nikki to her bones. “Oh, not expecting me? That’s okay. I often drop by on unexpected visits to people. Looking for your friends?” Ms. Arachne said.
Nikki gaped. “Whoa! How did you get here? And what are you doing with Mrs. Pinebaum? Where’s Riley and Kylie?” she said, for now she noticed that they were not on their beds.
“Oh, I just followed your trail. It was easy actually. The man at the strange taco stand was actually a contact of mine, and he told me that you passed by there, and then headed into town. I’ve come to bring you back to the boss, and this time, you won’t get away!” Ms. Arachne screamed with a dangerous glint in her eye. “This lady and your friends will all be taking a little swim downtown if you don’t come now!”
Nikki pretended to faint. Maybe if I pretend to faint, she’ll carry me and then get tired, and run off. I hope it works, but it’s my only hope. Stay limp! She reminded herself.
“What? No! I can’t believe that she fainted! Ugh! Now I have to carry her. Not fair!” Ms. Arachne struggled to pick her up. “Oof! How come she weighs so much?” She walked to the elevator, pulled out her cell phone, and called Bub. “Hey Bub!” she spat over the phone. She really disliked that guy. “I need you to get yourself over here. I have a package for you to help me deliver.”
“Fine. I’ll be there,” Bub replied.
“What did I tell you about calling me ma’am?”
“Sorry, ma’am,” he said sullenly.
Bub drove over, but when he got there Ms. Arachne was spitting mad. “How come you didn’t get here sooner? When I put the ‘fainted’ Nikki down for a moment, she jumped and ran off! Now she’s in that taxi down there with meddling Mrs. Pinebaum and her two friends! After them!” she jumped into the car, and Bub sped off.
“Can you please speed up? There are people after us! Look, Mrs. Pinebaum, can you see that black sedan back there? That’s Bub’s and Ms. Arachne’s car.” Nikki said anxiously.
“Oh those two? They’re incompetent, if they couldn’t even keep track of you three. Not like that’s a too easy task.” She smirked. “I should know!”
“Very well, young miss,” said the taxi driver with an Italian accent. “I will speed up.” He stepped on the gas. The car accelerated to seventy miles an hour on the deserted old highway. “That better?”
“Yes,” replied Nikki. “Thank you...”
“Jacques, miss,” replied Jacques.
“Ah. Thank you Jacques.”
“You’re welcome. By the way, what are your names?”
“Oh. This is Mrs. Pinebaum, our guardian and good friend; this is Riley, and her twin Kylie. I’m Nikki.”
Jacques had a funny look on his face. “Is your last name Harleson?”
“Yeah,” Nikki replied testily.
“And your parents, were their names Linda and John?”
“Yes,” Nikki replied even more nervously.
Jacques stopped the car and turned and embraced her. “Nikki! I can’t believe it’s you! I have been looking for you since your parents disappeared, to keep you safe from the people who took your parents, who apparently are right behind us.”
“You knew my parents?” Nikki stammered. “So you know where they are, right?”
“Sadly, no. I’ve been looking for them, and you. Luckily I found you before those people behind us could.”
“Oh, that’s only Bub and Ms. Arachne. They’re so lame!” Kylie said, as harsh as ever. “They were hired to get us to their boss.”
“And that would be who?” asked Jacques.
“We don’t know. Look out!” cried Nikki as Jacques swerved to avoid an old tree stump. Pop! The wheel blew out as it struck a protruding root.
“Oh, no! Now what are we going to do?” cried Kylie as Jacques backed away from the wheel explaining loudly that he needed to change the tire, but he left his tools in his other car.
“Hey, Ms. Arachne and Bub are stopping! Now they’re getting out of their car. Hide!” Nikki whispered as Riley, Kylie and her dove into the bushes.
“No, come on out. Jacques and I will deal with those two.” Mrs. Pinebaum said, rolling up her sleeves like the people in cartoons who are about to fight.
Ms. Arachne stormed up to Nikki. “You! You ruined my career! But now I can save it, by brining you in!” Ms. Arachne screamed, and grabbed Nikki. Ms. Arachne stopped in her tracks when she noticed Jacques and Mrs. Pinebaum standing there with their arms crossed, looking not unlike a set of angry parents. Ms. Arachne trembled in their shadow.
“Let her go,” he said slowly and deliberately. “She has done nothing to you. Leave her be.”
“You again! “I thought I got rid of you a while ago!” she said, pointing at Mrs. Pinebaum. “And you,” she sputtered, her hand shaking as she suddenly pointed at Jacques. “I told you once already, stay away from me!”
“No. Once you leave her alone, you’ll never have to see me again,” said Jacques. Under his breath he muttered, “I’ll make sure of it.”
“You know him?” Nikki exclaimed, pulling away from Ms. Arachne and running over to Jacques.
He sighed. “Sadly, yes. I used to work with her. But that was before she took her current job. We never really liked each other, but now...” he shrugged. “She’s always hated me. I don’t know why.”
“Why? You want to know why? I’ll tell you why. It’s because in programming I was the best, but because I was a girl, they ignored me. But you! Oh, you were their idol. They kissed the ground you walked on. I was just as god as you, but always in your shadow! It’s not fair! Not fair! Not fair!” she screamed. She looked like a giant two year old throwing a tantrum. A car drove by, and they saw a thirty-five year old woman, on the street screaming. The mom and dad in the car shook their heads, but the three and five year olds laughed hysterically.
Ms. Arachne noticed, and yelled, “Mind your own business, you little twerps!”
“Aah. Now I remember, you always hated kids, especially smart-alecky younger teens that gave you trouble.” Jacques said, with a wink at Riley, Kiley, and Nikki.
“Yes!! That’s why I hate Nikki and her friends, and want them locked away with her parents in Niagara Falls City!” Ms. Arachne gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.
“Nice one!” Bub laughed, mad that she told, yet glad that he was not the one in trouble.
“Shut up.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Bub replied sullenly. He did not like his new ‘partner’.
“Thanks for the valuable info, Ms. Arachne, or should I say, Ms. Wanda Rodes?”
“Hey! I’m not her anymore! I changed my name long ago! That persona is gone! I’m a new woman!”
“Oh?” Jacques said, raising an eyebrow. “That’s not what your passports will say!” he said as he walked over and grabbing her purse and pulled the two passports out. “Well now, look at what we have here! Says that your old ‘persona’ is still you. It doesn’t say anything about a name change. But, your other one says that Ms. Arachne is your birth name. Guess they’re both wrong, eh? And isn’t it illegal to have two passports?”
“You! Ugh! Jerk! I’m leaving, and taking this brat with me!” Ms. Arachne said, grabbing Nikki for the third time that day. Nikki tried to squirm away, but she made eye contact with Jacques, and she knew that she had to go, and they would follow. Then she would escape with their help and rescue her parents. Nikki sighed. Bub trained his gun on them so that Mrs. Pinebaum, Jacques, Riley, and Kylie would not chase them.

Chapter 13
Ms. Arachne shoved Nikki into the car, slammed the door, and hopped into the passenger side seat. “Get in!” she screamed at Bub.
“Yes ma’am,” Bub replied sullenly. Ms. Arachne was getting on his nerves. He slowly backed into the car, and handed the gun to Ms. Arachne.
“Drive!”
“Yes ma’am.”
Most of the time Nikki is very brave, but she was starting to get a little scared. After all, she was in the car with two maniacs, taking her to probably another power-hungry maniac. And, when she dealt with Ms. Arachne before, she was with Riley and Kylie. Now, she was alone.
“He-he-he,” Ms. Arachne giggled, rubbing her hands together like an evil genius. The evil part definitely applied to her, but the genius.... Not so sure about that.
As Riley sat in the taxi with Kylie she almost started to cry. The plan is so far-fetched that it might not work! Thought Riley. Jacques gave Nikki a tracker but she doesn’t know about it, and if Ms. Arachne finds it, the plan won’t work! It all depends on being able to find her. And besides, there will be lots of guards around because of what happened last time, and they most likely will be armed with guns! The thought of never seeing Nikki again was too horrible. I wish I could fly, and then I would rescue her and go to Niagara Falls and find her parents thought Riley. To cheer herself up, she started thinking of Kylie and Nikki’s most embarrassing moments. The one that made her laugh the most was when on a field trip Nikki thought that she saw her parents, and ran over and hugged them. But they were two complete strangers! When Nikki came back her face was so red. Riley saddened again, not only because she missed Nikki, but also because she now remembered the tear running down Nikki’s cheek after, and how Riley, Kylie and all the other children laughed and laughed long afterward. Now all those other kids were adopted, or in foster homes. Out of that group of children, Riley, Kiley, and Nikki were the only ones left.
“Riley? You okay?” Kylie asked, for her twin’s face was downcast and gloomy. “What’s wrong? You’re not worried, are you?”
Riley’s look said everything.
“Oh, I’m sorry! But the plan will work!” Kylie said with such determination that it startled Riley. She could tell that Kylie was truly trying to convince herself of that too.
Nikki stared out the back window of the sedan with a mournful look on her face. She missed Riley, Kylie, Mrs. Pinebaum, and Jacques too, even though she just met him. Why is Ms. Arachne so bitter? She wondered. What does she have to do with my parent’s disappearance? I shouldn’t be here. If Ms. Arachne had never taken that job that Jacques talked about, then I would be in my bed at home with mom and dad! She fumed. She was filled with a lot of hate towards Ms. Arachne, even though she knew that God commanded you to love your enemies. She believed that Ms. Arachne was ruining her life. But in reality it only was making her stronger.
“You! Keep your mouth shut, and stay in your seat! No crying either!” commanded Ms. Arachne. “I so love this job!” she cried.
“Uh, ma’am?” asked Bub.
“What!” she snapped back.
“Well, ma'am, I was just thinking that this road isn’t the right one.”
“What did I tell you about thinking? I told you already, just be quiet and drive!”
“Okay, if you say so ma'am. I just think we’re on the wrong road...”
“If we are then that’s your fault! And we are! So turn around! Nikki, come here now!”
“Yeah?” Nikki said without moving, or taking her eyes of the window.
“I told you to call me ma'am!”
“So?”
“So, get over here!”
“You told me not to get out of my seat!” Nikki smirked.
“Aargh!”
“Ha-ha!”
“Get over here!”
Nikki slipped out of her seat and stepped over to Ms. Arachne. “What?”
“Stand here, and don’t move!” Ms Arachne said. She pulled out a bandanna. “There!” she said after she tied it around Nikki’s eyes. “Now you can’t see where we’re going!”
Nikki got worried. Jacques had given her a cell phone, but if she didn’t know where she was heading, the whole plan wouldn’t work! If Ms. Arachne found the cell phone, then she would be in a whole lot of trouble. Beep! Beep! Nikki whirled around towards the small beeping sound. “Huh?” she said as she found a little, barely perceptible device on her shirt. She tried to tug it off, but it was there for good. She looked at it closely, and found that it was sending out a signal. That must be Jacques’ plan! She thought joyfully. He put a tracker on my shirt so that if she found the cell phone, then she wouldn’t think to look for anything else! Genius! I hope this works!